Introducing: Alex Egan
You couldn’t meet a nicer guy! DJ and Producer ‘Alex Egan’. Alex is no stranger to My Heroes Killed Cowboys, having previously played for us under the former guise of Skull Juice with Benedict Bull he has since gone on to establish a few different alter egos such as Astronomer, with remixes for Joakim, Metronomy, The XX, Glasser, Jori Hulkkonen and Zombi to name but a few. His most recent work ‘Geschmacklos’ is recorded as ‘The Draughtsman’ and is out now on Tim Paris’ record label ‘Marketing Music’. ‘Geschmacklos’ is gaining a lot attention from the likes of Erol Alkan, Ivan Smagghe, Trevor Jackson, Roman Flugel & Ewan Pearson… just slightly impressive then! I caught up with Alex at his gig at My Heroes Killed Cowboys to talk about production, the German language and Dungeons & Dragons…..
So Alex….how long have you been producing now?
I’ve been messing around with recording since my early-teens. My dad’s a musician so there were always instruments lying around and music blaring out, which sparked my interest at a young age I guess. At first I’d simply use a four-track and just jack any sound source within reach into it and hit record. So you could take some samples from vinyl, loop them up manually by pausing then put live instruments or whatever over the top. Basic but fun. Next I pretty much did the same thing on a painfully slow computer, but of course then I also had the ability to cut, copy, splice which was incredible. I’ve only been producing properly for the past 3 or so years though. Nowadays the possibilities are endless, which in itself can be a problem. Limitations actually help.
I recall when you first started producing and you were listening to tracks over and over breaking them down, to see how they were structured. Have you always been self taught when it comes to production?
Oh yeah, I’ve definitely examined a few tracks in detail – just to figure out how certain parts were created – though now after years of consuming music (either on the dancefloor or just listening to tracks all the time) a lot of it has sunk in. I don’t find myself over-analysing absolutely everything as much as I used to. It’s useful to know certain techniques and practices but going too far is distracting, I’d rather just enjoy myself. For example, knowing what kind of length intro/outro is better for DJing with is second nature, but it’s hard to ‘unlearn’ such rigid formulas. It’s quite fun throwing those ideas out the window.I learned the basics of recording during a Music Technology course when I was 18, though to be honest I spent most of the time making a complete racket on the studio’s drumkit and Juno 60. Apart from that I’m self-taught.
Do you find you’re spending more time in the studio than dj’ing now?
Definitely, which is funny as I’ve always been a DJ first and foremost. Back when I was playing out regularly – between 2006-2009 – I really wanted to focus on making more music. Of course, now that I am making music all the time I want to DJ more!
What’s your studio consisting of these days?
Unfortunately it’s a bad time to ask that question! I recently sold a lot of equipment so I wouldn’t even call it a studio at the moment. The projects I’m working on right now are all being made on just my Macbook Pro. If I do need sounds from anything else I’ll plug it in though. It’s a super simple set-up, but it works.
How did you find the transition from Skull Juice to then Astronomer & The Draughtsman?
It all happened by accident really. The first Astronomer remix was commissioned as a Skull Juice one, but I ended up making it alone as Ben was busy and I had time on my hands. I really enjoyed it so just carried on from remix to remix. Skull Juice was still my main priority. After a few more of my remixes came out I moved to Brighton which made it difficult for us to work together regularly. That’s when I really began working on my own material. We were still DJing back to back right up until Summer 2011 but by that point we were both more focused on our own projects so it seemed natural to end the collaboration. Our club Walk The Night still crawls on though, even if the events are ridiculously irregular.
Astromomer & The Draughtsman sound like characters from the fantasy role playing game dungeons & dragons.. were you ever a fan?
Haha no, though I have a soft spot for Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I’d probably love it.
Geschmacklos is your most recent work as The Draughtsman and we’ve had it on repeat over the past month and lovin it. Are we right in saying Geschmacklos is a German word? what does it translate to and do you speak German?
Thanks, I’m glad you like it. You’re right the title is German and it roughly translates as ‘tasteless’. There is a concept behind ‘Geschmacklos’ (and the entire upcoming ’1694 EP’) which all the track titles, artwork and hidden samples allude to, but it’s far more interesting if people discover those connections themselves. It’s fairly obvious, but let’s try and retain a little mystery!
You left London to live in Brighton for a while but now you’re back, how was your time away from London?
Most of the time it was great. I moved with my girlfriend while she was studying for her MA down there. Neither of us knew anyone initially which was actually quite useful as I ended up making a lot of music! Back then I was a bit sick of London so it seemed like perfect timing. After a couple of years though we’d had enough and decided to move back. Most of our friends are London-based and there’s just so much more happening all the time. We were travelling back and forth every other weekend. I do miss living by the sea though.
A lot of people are looking forward to you playing at the MHKC event on the 24th, what have you got in store?
Lots of new music, even more old music and a couple of exclusives! There’s one record in particular that I can’t wait to play out and hear loud…
Original link: http://www.myheroeskilledcowboys.co.uk/blog/introducing-alex-egan/